Different experiences await delegates convening in Delaware, depending on the time of the year.
Whether it’s hiking or bicycling beautiful trails lit with fall foliage during autumn, shopping for last-minute tax-free gifts during the winter holiday season, touring a wildlife refuge in the spring or enjoying waterborne pursuits and beach bonfires during summer, the four seasons provide distinct and memorable opportunities for group gatherings.
Autumn
When the weather cools and the leaves start turning brilliant colors, it’s a great time to hit the links.
According to Jessica Bittmann, director of sales at the Greater Wilmington CVB, the area has several courses that accommodate group play, including Odessa National Golf Couse and Rock Manor Golf Club, which both have banquet facilities, and Deerfield, which boasts an on-site conference center.
A visit to Hagley Museum & Library is always a popular outing for groups, and this fall the opening of a new exhibit, Driving Desire: Automobile Advertising and the American Dream, makes for yet another reason to visit, Bittmann says.
In Kent County, the Dover International Speedway revs up in the fall.
According to Charles Gray, director of sales for the Kent County & Greater Dover CVB, group ticket sales and private seating areas are available at the speedway for visiting groups.
And in Southern Delaware, according to Scott Thomas, executive director of Southern Delaware Tourism, an autumn excursion bicycling or hiking the Junction & Breakwater and Gordons Pond trails is an ideal group outing.
“These beautiful trails wind through woods, farmlands and coastal marshes, and are wonderful jaunts for birders, nature lovers and fitness buffs,” he says. “The trails form a 16-mile loop between Rehoboth and Lewes and there are bicycle rentals and great dining options at both ends, allowing planners flexibility when designing outings.”
Southern Delaware showcases entertainment offerings year-round at venues including Rehoboth-based Clear Space Theatre, “but things really ramp up in the fall,” Thomas adds, as it brings the Rehoboth Beach Jazz Festival and other fun events.
Winter
The holiday season in Greater Wilmington brings a calendar of festivities as well as decorations galore that groups can check out.
“Du Pont mansions including Hagley, Winterthur and Nemours are dressed for the holidays, and Longwood Gardens mounts spectacular displays inside its conservatory and more than 500,000 lights twinkle outside,” Bittmann says, adding the annual Orchid Extravaganza at Longwood Gardens is a must-see for groups visiting from January through March.
The holiday season is perhaps the best time to take advantage of tax-free shopping throughout Delaware, including at the Newark-based Christiana Mall and the Rehoboth Beach-based Tanger Outlets.
After a shopping outing in Southern Delaware, Thomas suggests a brewery or winery tour and tasting at a local purveyor, including Dogfish Head Craft Brewery in Milton and Nassau Valley Vineyards in Lewes.
Wintertime in Kent County and Greater Dover, according to Gray, is the perfect season to take in a performance at the Schwartz Center for Performing Arts or to visit a museum, including the Johnson Victrola Museum or Biggs Museum of American Art.
Spring
Annually at the end of spring in mid-June, the DuPont Clifford Brown Jazz Festival livens up downtown Wilmington’s Rodney Square.
“This week-long, open-air festival brings some of the most exciting jazz personalities to the stage,” says the Greater Wilmington CVB’s Bittmann. “It’s free, open to the public and held rain or shine.”
Spring, she adds, is the ideal time for groups to experience area gardens, including Longwood Gardens, where attendees can stroll through more than 1,000 acres of spring blooms bursting into color.
In Kent County, groups should visit Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge during the spring, says the Kent County & Greater Dover CVB’s Gray.
The refuge features a picturesque 12-mile wildlife drive and trails to lookout towers where attendees can watch waterfowl take off and land.
In Southern Delaware, also known as the Culinary Coast, the Eating Rehoboth walking food tour is a hit with groups.
“It introduces participants to five eateries and at each they enjoy a taste and a drink,” says Southern Delaware Tourism’s Thomas. “Guests meet and hear from local celebrity chefs, and are often treated to demonstrations. These popular tours are a fun, delicious and laid-back way for a group to spend an afternoon enjoying good food and each other.”
If the group is made up of golfers, there are plenty of options for a springtime tournament at local Southern Delaware courses, including Bear Trap Dunes and Baywood Greens.
Summer
The Wilmington Riverfront is alive with new energy and is especially bustling during the summer months, according to Bittmann.
Attractions to explore here include Frawley Stadium, the home of the Wilmington Blue Rocks baseball team, the Delaware Center for the Contemporary Arts, Stratosphere Trampoline Park and the 18-hole Riverfront Miniature Golf Course & Ice Cream.
If the group is in town during mid-to late-July, attendees might enjoy the Delaware Shakespeare Festival under the stars on the grounds of Rockwood Museum and Park.
“Bring a picnic or purchase food from on-site vendors,” Bittmann says.
Summertime is well suited for a Good Libations Tour, which makes five stops in Kent County.
“There are various environments surrounding each stop, from a winery in the country set along the Mason Dixon line marker, to a brewery in an industrial setting, to a distillery set within an old theater,” Gray says.
He adds groups are welcome at Killens Pond State Park, where they’ll find kayaking, canoeing and hiking opportunities, as well as pavilions for meal functions and a disc golf course.
Ocean beaches, rivers and other bodies of water make Southern Delaware a hotspot for waterborne pursuits like paddleboarding and kayaking during the summer. Thomas says watersports are great as group teambuilding activities, and that local outfitters can set up programs designed for participants of any age or ability.
For groups who’d like to spend a more relaxing time on the water, Southern Delaware marinas offer ocean and bay fishing charters, and scheduled and charter pontoon boat tours.
“Charters are largely customizable and could be designed to meet the needs of individual groups, whether they simply want an out-of-the-ordinary meeting venue or are looking for an extraordinary experience on the water,” Thomas says.
And there might not be a better way to end a summer day of meetings than taking the group out to unwind around a beach bonfire.
“Groups can enjoy beach games—volleyball or Frisbee, anyone?—create an incredible seafood dinner over the fire, roast marshmallows for gooey s’mores or just sit around chatting while enjoying the fire, the sound of the waves and the ocean breezes,” Thomas says.
